


treasure you in death as well as life

by SmileHoney



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Addams Family Levels of Violence, Addams Family Musical AU, Alternate Universe - Addams Family Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, Azula and Zuko have a good relationship, Brief Cursing, Disagreements, Established Relationship, Family Drama, Frank discussions of death, If you know the Addams Family that's how this is, Inspired by Addams Family, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, M/M, Noren as Zuko and Azula's father, Nothing is super graphic though, Protective Azula (Avatar), Rated T for mentions of violence, Ursa (Avatar) is a Good Parent, ambiguous setting, mentions of torture, no beta we die like lu ten, secret engagement, very minor angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27173710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmileHoney/pseuds/SmileHoney
Summary: Sokka chuckled softly. “Yeah, I know. And that’s what I’ve always loved about you. You’re so different from anyone I’ve ever met- crazier than anyone I’ve ever met- but I promise you it just makes you all the more special to me. I do want to marry you, Zuko. I want to marry you more than anything in the world, craziness and darkness and all.”or,Zuko and Sokka are engaged, but they haven't told anyone yet. When they confess at dinner, things take an interesting turn.
Relationships: Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Hakoda & Katara (Avatar), Noren/Ursa (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 141





	treasure you in death as well as life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunnymygal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnymygal/gifts).



> I affectionately call this the Zukka Addams Family Musical AU No One Asked For, AKA my emotional support AU, AKA my Halloween fic.
> 
> Don't worry though, you don't really need to know anything about the Addams Family or the musical to enjoy this.
> 
> I wasn't going to write this, but then Sunny encouraged me on tumblr, I got going with it, and... Nearly 11K words later, here it is. The idea was born several weeks ago, and written within two days. It might be rough, but that's okay. 
> 
> Just some warnings for this fic- it's a little wacky, just like the Addams Family. There are some brief mentions of torture and frank discussions of death, but I don't think anything is too graphic. There's also a moment where Katara is slipped some potion- when Azula ducks under the table during the dinner scene- if that's a trigger/squick/uncomfortable for anyone.
> 
> Also, Noren, Ursa's husband from the comics, is in this fic. I needed someone to play the role of Gomez, but I couldn't stand to make Ozai a good husband or father, so I chose Noren instead. You don't need to know anything about the comics or him, either. 
> 
> The setting, time period, and world is all a bit... ambiguous. There's no bending, but I don't really know if it's in a modern setting, Ba Sing Se, canon.... I'm not sure. It's wherever and whenever you want it to be, really.
> 
> Anyways, this was written exclusively to the Addams Family Musical Soundtrack. I have probably listened to it about 100 times now, but it was worth it. I highly recommend it.
> 
> The title is from the song "Crazier Than You" from the soundtrack.
> 
> And Sunny, my gal, my pal, thanks for unknowingly encouraging me to start writing it. ILY very much and I hope you enjoy it <3

The graveyard was dark, the only light coming from the moon up above, big and yellow and bright. Fall was slowly turning into winter and there was a chill to the air that settled all around, slowly killing the grass and making the leaves drop to the ground. They crunched under foot as a group of seven people walked amongst mist covered tombstones, headed for the mausoleum in the center of the graveyard. They were a strange menagerie of people, there was no doubt at it, from their looks to their clothes. Each was clad in all black, an odd assortment of dresses and pants, platform boots and high heels, suits and overcoats, fishnets and leather. 

Leading the group was an elegant couple made of a tall woman with long dark hair that fell straight down her back, except where half of it was pulled back in a tight bun, in a black dress cut down to her sternum. She held onto the arm of a handsome man with a long ponytail and a goatee and mustache on his face, clad in a pinstripe suit and a silver walking stick in his free hand.

Behind them were two children. The eldest was a young man, eighteen years of age, in black slacks, heavy combat boots, and a black button up shirt, with dual dao swords slung across his back and a scar circling his left eye. His sister, two years younger than him, walked beside him in fishnets beneath a black dress, her own heavy boots crunching the leaves beneath them and the chains adorning them clinking together.

The last three of the group were perhaps the strangest. There was an old man with long, messy white hair adorned in flowing black robes and pants, wrinkled hand twisted around a cane with an elaborately engraved silver skull at the top. Beside him was an odd looking man, the top of his head bald and the rest covered by long grey hair. He was large, though the overcoat that was buttoned up to his chin likely made him appear larger than he was. And behind them lumbered an unnaturally tall young man, easily over eight feet, with a strange complexion that made him appear half dead and a twisted scar running across his forehead.

There was a dry mustiness in the air, permeated by the smell of upturned dirt and death, and all seven inhaled deeply.

The woman sighed and stopped in front of the mausoleum. “Oh, what a wonderful night to honor our ancestors.”

“Indeed, my love,” her husband agreed, stroking her face with the back of his hand. “It smells like death.”

“Intoxicatingly so,” she agreed, moving close to him, so caught up in each other that they missed the disgusted look their children sent each other.

“Ugh, can we get on to the ghosts please?” the girl whined, though her face was still disinterested.

“Ever impatient, Azula, dear,” her father scolded, though he stepped away from his wife. “Even so, she’s right. Ursa, darling, do you wish to do the honors?”

“But of course.” She turned to her family and grinned. “We gather here tonight to celebrate what it means to be a Huo. On this wonderfully dreadful day, we call forwards the spirits of our ancestors to celebrate their gruesome, devilish, disgusting deaths!” she cried, bringing up her arms joyously. “Noren, my love, what does it mean to be a Huo to you?”

“Seeing the world in nothing but shades of grey, of course.”

The young girl followed her father with a monotonous, “Explosions.”

The boy gestured to the weapons across his back. “Always being prepared with your swords.”

The fat man grinned. “Broken glass in a motel room!” he suggested.

“Playing with poison at dinner,” the old man added, wagging his finger in the air, though it was in the opposite direction of where Ursa was. The girl rolled her eyes and turned him so that he was facing the right way. “Oh. Playing with poison at dinner!” he said again. The rest of the group simply nodded politely in response.

“Ughhhh,” the tall boy groaned.

Ursa nodded appreciatively. “You are all right. A taste for death, for darkness, for blood, for the dreary things everyone pushes aside. Our duty is first and foremost to our family, which is why tonight beneath the yellow moonlight, we summon our ancestors, our beloved ancestors!”

At her words, fog poured out of the mausoleum door that swung open on its own, and then the ghosts began to pour out. If the mix of people dressed in all black were peculiar looking, the translucent white figures filling the graveyard were mad looking. There was a samurai, a ballerina, a geisha, a chef, an emperor, a doctor, an archer, a teacher… Every and any profession one could imagine was represented amongst the ghosts. They were groaning and stretching, voices overlapping and filling the air. 

“And now,” Ursa declared, lifting her arms, “we celebrate being a Huo!”

And in a strange turn of events, the ghoulish family began to dance. To anyone else, it would look like an evening out of a nightmare, but this was what it meant to be a Huo- the cycle of life and death, family, and dancing in a graveyard in the pale moonlight alongside their ancestors. 

💀🕸💀

Long after the dancing ended and the sun was just beginning to rise, only one figure remained in the graveyard alongside the ghosts. They had turned to go back to their graves as the rest of the family made their way up the hill to the large house now visible in the brightening light, but they were stopped by the voice of the half bald man. 

“Ancestors, wait!" 

“Iroh?” several voices echoed back to him curiously as they paused.

“Before you all go, there’s something I must say. And that’s that… well, you can’t go yet.”

“What?” came the powerful shout of the entire Huo family’s dead relatives, so strong that a burst of wind came his way, making him take a step backwards and his hair lift off his shoulders.

_“What do you mean?”_

_“Why not?”_

_“What’s happening?”_

_“You don’t get to make that call!”_

He held up his hands placatingly. “Please ancestors, I know you are eager to return to your busy schedule of being dead. However, there’s important news. Zuko is in love.”

The ancestors froze, then began speaking over one another. 

_“In love?”_

_“With who?”_

_“Since when?”_

_“Zuko?”_

_“That can’t be!”_

“I know. Little Zuko, that angry young boy who set fires for fun... He’s grown up and found love with a nice young man.”

“Another boy?” a particularly enraged voice called out over the laughter and celebration of the other ghosts. 

Iroh looked and sighed when he saw Grandpa Sozin, face folded in fury and fists clenched. “Can it, Grandpa,” he addressed. “Just because you didn’t get your boyfriend back in the day doesn’t mean Zuko can’t get his.”

The ghost frowned and said something else, but was wise enough to say it so quietly Iroh couldn’t hear, and then disappeared into the crowd. 

“Anyways,” he continued. “His name is Sokka, and he and his family are coming for dinner tonight. He seems like a nice young man and clearly makes Zuko happy. Now, you all know our family motto!”

“Death is one day away!” someone called out.

“Being dead is the next great adventure!” another voice yelled. 

“Nothing is certain except for death and taxes!” the samurai supplied, wielding his ghostly weapon in the air to cheers. 

“Death is the new black!” a voice shouted from the back. 

Iroh sighed. “No, none of those. No one sleeps until love triumphs!”

There was silence, and then a collective “ _Ooooh,_ ” from the ancestors. 

“Aye, I don’t know why I try with you spirits,” he muttered and pinched the space between his eyebrows. “No matter. We must help Zuko and Sokka with their young love. Only then can you return to your graves!”

“Until love triumphs!” they cried out. 

Iroh grinned. This was going to be good- he could just tell. 

💀🕸💀

As he rushed around the room, pulling at levers, chains, nails, and banners, Zuko couldn’t help his mind from turning to Sokka. His boyfriend. His fiancé. Just at the thought, he grinned maniacally. It was a strange sight to see, for Zuko wasn’t particularly known for being very… happy. Quite often, he was angry, surly, gloomy, and mopey.

But Sokka… Well, the boy had literally come out of nowhere- he’d walked out of the woods and startled Zuko while he was out hunting for dinner, swords clasped in his hands. Without thinking, he’d swung, bringing his blades up against the boy’s throat and pinning him to a tree. But with his first glance into ocean blue eyes, he’d faltered. He was, simply, the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. Sokka, to his credit, hadn’t shrieked like many others would, but had simply laughed and asked if he was chopping down trees. And Zuko had done something he had never done outside of conversations about death- he had _laughed_. 

Since that moment, he’d felt like he was losing control. Around Sokka, he was a giggly, blushy, gooey mess of _happiness_ . He soon knew, after just a few days of awkward flirting, that he loved Sokka. It was fast, that much was true, but Zuko knew that he was it for him (and compared to his parents, who had only gone on one date before getting married, it was a long time). No one had ever made him feel so… _conflicted_ , but he loved it. To his delight (and what a strange concept _that_ was), Sokka had felt the same and asked him to marry him a few weeks later. 

And now, tonight, he was going to come over for dinner and they would tell their families of the engagement. He was ready for whatever would come, as long as his fiancé was at his side. Right?

“Why are you grinning like that?” Azula snapped at him, craning her head to find him. She was strapped to the chair in the middle of the room, wires attached to various points across her body, and was clearly impatient. “Are you almost done? I want to get to the electrocution already.”

“Sokka,” he grinned dreamily as he finished setting up the machine. “And yes. It’s done.”

“Ugh what is wrong with you? You’re all… _normal_.”

Zuko reached out and flicked the switch so that she'd stop talking, letting electricity run through the wires and his sister’s body. She yelped and grinned as she jolted in the seat. He flicked the switch off, leaving her slumped in the chair. She tossed her hair back, a wild gleam in her eye. “Oh come on, Zuzu, you know I can take more.”

“He’s just so… Amazing,” he sighed as he flicked the switch idly on and off. He wasn’t paying much attention to if Azula was listening or not- he didn’t really care. “I mean he’s gorgeous, but it’s so much more than that. He’s a literal genius! I mean he has all these ideas for these crazy inventions, he can write a poem in just a few seconds, and he can solve a murder mystery almost as fast as we can. And there’s this list he has of places he wants to go and things he wants to do- like penguin sledding! And he’s so funny- I don’t think I’ve ever laughed more than when I’m with him. Being in love with him has just- I feel like a whole new person! I mean before I didn’t care about any of that stuff, but now I’d do anything to go penguin sledding or travel the world with him. I feel like I’m being pulled in a new direction and what’s crazy is that I don’t even care!”

Azula was panting slightly in the chair, but she still lifted her head up to glare at her brother. “Is this because mother insisted we be kind to strangers?”

“No!” he cried in indignation. “Maybe. Yes. But look at what I got from it! True love. And it's beautiful.”

She gagged. “This is worse torture than anything else you could ever do to me, Zuzu. This is cruel and unusual punishment.”

He didn’t hear her, too busy humming to himself as he imagined dinner tonight. Sokka would arrive, dressed in blue and looking as handsome as always with his wolf tail and lopsided grin. They’d embrace first, a sweet hug to make up for how long they’d been separated and then they’d kiss, sweetly and passionately. And then he’d meet his fiancé's family, glorious in all their normality-

Oh no. 

_Normal_. How could Zuko have forgotten?

“Azula, get out of the chair,” he yelped. “Emergency family meeting!”

He ran out of the room, leaving her there to try and get out of the chains herself. She frowned, stewing. It was already happening- her worst fears, coming to life before her very eyes; Zuko was in love, and now he was going to leave her behind. As she wiggled her way out of the chains, a plan was stewing in her mind. And if it was successful, which it would be, they’d be back in this room tomorrow with the electricity turned up to high. She’d make sure Sokka would _not_ be taking her brother away, even if it was the last thing she did. 

💀🕸💀

Zuko found his mother and father in the lounge, Ursa sprawled across the settee holding a bouquet, except the flowers had been torn off- a dozen pink roses now laid scattered across the flower, and she held just the stems. Zuko recognized the pink flowers and gasped at the sight, heartbroken, then rushed forwards on his knees to pick them up.

“What did you do, mother? They’ll die!”

She shrugged. “Exactly. Besides, aren’t they much prettier this way?”

“No!” 

“Zuko, come now, they’re just flowers. You’ve never cared before,” his father placated. 

“They were from Sokka. They’re his favorite kind.”

Noren sighed, though it was light hearted and teasing. “Oh spirits, here we go again. Sokka, Sokka, Sokka.”

“Oh Noren, hush. He’s just in love. You remember how it is,” his mother defended him, holding her arms out so Zuko could sit next to her. “Now, why’d you rush in here in such a tizzy?”

“We need to have an emergency family meeting about dinner. With everyone.” As if they had been summoned by his words, the rest of the family came in through the various doors around the room. “Oh. Perfect. So, Sokka is coming for dinner tonight, and his family is coming as well. But… Well, I need us to all be normal.”

“Normal?” Everyone shouted, except Lu Ten, who just groaned in distress, scarred forehead wrinkling.

“I know, I know. But Sokka and his family are ordinary. They aren’t into all this death and decay and darkness that we are. So please, can we just pretend to be normal so that they’ll like us?”

“Why is it so important that his parents like you? You’ve never cared before,” his grandfather inquired.

He blanked- his grandfather brought up a good point that he hadn’t thought of. It was, of course, important because of their engagement, but his parents didn’t know about it yet, so he couldn’t exactly say that. “Uh… It’s just…”

“It’s young love!” Uncle Iroh interrupted with a knowing wink. Zuko swallowed, wondering if he had figured it out somehow, but his uncle was already moving on. “You know how it is, when you’re young it’s the end of the world if your boyfriend’s parents don’t approve.”

Grandpa Azulon huffed. “Well, I don’t know how to be normal.”

“Just… pretend you work at the hospital!” Zuko suggested.

“And it’s just one night?” 

“Yes. Just one normal night, please. That’s all I ask. Just… less black, less death, less peculiarity, for one dinner,” he pleaded to his family.

“I, for one, look forward to being normal!” Iroh laughed in delight.

Ursa and Noren glanced at each other, but shrugged.

“Of course, my turtleduck,” Ursa said for both her and her husband as she gave him a gentle hug. “We can do one normal night.”

Zuko smiled gratefully. Relief was flooding his veins at their agreement- perhaps tonight wouldn’t be a complete failure after all. “Okay. Good. Then let’s…. Let’s get ready! Time is wasting. They’ll be here at six!”

He rushed off, going to get ready.

“Get ready?” Azula asked, gazing after him in confusion as everyone else filed out of the room. “It’s only noon.”

Grandpa Azulon patted her hand. “Love. It’ll do that to you. You lose all track of time until suddenly you’re old and disheveled, like me, and you don’t know how long you’ve been alive." At her pointed silence he added, "Although maybe that’s just the poison.”

Her eyes lit up. “Grandpa, what if there was a boy who wasn’t himself anymore? What would you give him?”

“Nothin’. He’s your brother. You should support him.” In a conspiratorial whisper, he leaned in close and dropped a bottle of potion into her hand. “But I’d give him acrimonium. It’ll make him reveal the true darkness within!”

Azula smiled at her namesake devilishly. “Of course. You’re right, Grandpa. I’m so happy for him.”

She looked at the bottle in her hand, a deep purple. Her twisted reflection gazed back at her and she closed her hand around it. Zuko would drink, and then he’d reveal what was truly inside him. Sokka would freak out, leave him, and then her brother would go back to electrocuting her everyday.

And everything would be fine.

💀🕸💀

When the doorbell rang at six o’clock sharp, Zuko about jumped out of his skin. He finished the final touches on his outfit and smoothed down his hair nervously, staring at himself, an unfamiliar sight in a bright yellow and maroon striped shirt tucked into his normal black slacks. _Just one night_ , he reminded himself. _It's just for tonight, to impress Sokka’s family, and then we can be together_. 

He could hear rambunctious laughter that he recognized as his mother’s, and cringed, already able to imagine the gruesome stories she was telling about their ancestors. With a deep breath and a final look in the mirror, he descended the stairs.

He stopped halfway, looking up to see Sokka’s blue eyes on him already. His fiancé was indeed wearing blue, a light blue button up tucked into white pants and a dark blue blazer over it. He looked… Well, Zuko was so distracted by how beautiful he was that he almost slipped down the stairs, so he supposed that was a good indication of how good he looked. 

Standing next to him was a girl in a light blue dress with a long braid, and a man in a light grey suit. Even without knowing they were his father and sister, Zuko thought he would have been able to pick them out in a crowd, they all looked so much alike.

Sure enough, his mother was entranced in a story about their great great great ancestor, a great emperor of some small kingdom, and he sighed. “Sokka!” he called out, just to interrupt her.

Everyone’s gaze turned to him and he saw his father and mother both flinch at the sight of him in colors. 

“What on earth are you wearing?” Noren yelped, dismay clear at the sight of Zuko in bright colors.

“A shirt,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Zuko, darling, we don’t wear bright colors. You must have gotten confused and stumbled into someone else’s wardrobe,” his mother laughed.

Sokka’s sister frowned, looking down at her own bright dress. “Is there something wrong with bright colors?”

“No dear, of course not,” Ursa responded over her shoulder.

“Please, mother, father. You promised,” he whispered urgently to them. 

They sighed in unison. “You’re right, turtleduck. Normal people,” his mother acquiesced. 

The trio turned back to the other family and Zuko stepped forward, eyes locked on Sokka. He was smiling as he stepped forward to take Zuko’s left hand and turned to his own family. “Dad, this is my boyfriend, Zuko.”

He stuck out his free hand and clasped the man’s own, shaking it firmly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“Please, call me Hakoda. It’s so nice to finally meet the boy my son’s been so obsessed with,” he teased, though Zuko could tell it was half hearted as he tried not to ask about the scar. He simply nodded in response with the most normal smile he could muster.

“And this is my sister Katara,” Sokka introduced.

If Hakoda tried to hide his distaste and judgement, it was clear upon Katara’s face. Zuko stuck out his hand to her as well, but she ignored it in favor of staring at his scar. “That's an unusual scar you have, Zuko.”

“Uh, yes, I suppose so…” 

“Our little Zuko here was such an adventurous child,” his mother piped up and ruffled his hair. He scowled and fixed it anxiously, and caught Sokka laughing behind his hand, blue eyes sparkling with mirth. “He and his sister used to get into all sorts of trouble. That little scar came from a particularly notable occasion when they-”

“Okay, mother, why don’t the parents go get to know each other and we’ll just… go talk!” Zuko interrupted, already halfway to the stairs, dragging Sokka behind him. They did _not_ need to know he got his scar when an explosion he and Azula planned together went wrong- that went against the entire idea of being _normal_.

“Leave the door open!” Hakoda called after them.

“Yes Dad,” Sokka called back with an eye roll and a subtle head shake at Zuko. 

“Oh trust me, we raised Zuko better than that,” they heard Noren say. “He won’t try anything.”

“I’m going to die of humiliation,” Zuko said, tugging Sokka into his room and slamming the door shut.

He gave a low chuckle, a sound that made Zuko's heart warm with content, and stepped close to give him a warm hug. “Isn’t death your family’s whole thing?”

“Not tonight,” Zuko snorted. “We’re trying to be normal tonight.”

Sokka winced and flopped onto Zuko’s bed. “Yeah, I think that already got turned upside down.”

“What? What do you mean?” Zuko cried, leaping on top of Sokka so that he was caging him in between his knees and arms, long hair falling down around their faces.

Sokka blushed at the position, but continued. “Well, first of all, when we walked in, the tall guy-”

“Lu Ten. My cousin.”

“Right- Lu Ten- didn’t speak.” 

“Yeah, he just grunts. I don’t think he’s said a word in years.”

“Hm. Well, then Azula walked in proclaiming that she wanted to get a job so that she could start saving money for a new handgun.”

“Of course she did.”

“And then your grandfather came in and was talking about how the hospital gives him body parts and drugs for free because one of the nurses has a crush on him. And Iroh came in after that-”

“I don’t want to know, do I?”

“Probably not. But Iroh came in and said he was at football practice, then ran around everyone shouting different calls. None of which made sense, I’ll have you know.”

“Ugh, spirits, they’re so embarrassing. I wanted them to be normal, just for one night. We just need your dad and sister to like us.”

“Hey, I know, baby. It’ll be okay. My dad will love you, I'm sure of it, and then we can get married soon.” He brought his hand up and brushed Zuko’s hair behind his ear. “Now, are you going to kiss me, or are you just gonna make me suffer?”

“Making you suffer would be fun, but…” Zuko gazed down at Sokka, all sparkling blue eyes, freckles dusted across his cheekbones, and pink lips dying to be kissed- and was unable to hold himself back any longer. He leaned down and brushed a chaste kiss to his lips.

Sokka chased him as he pulled away and suddenly they were flipped over, Sokka caging Zuko in. 

Zuko grinned against his lips and just tangled his fingers in his hair to kiss him harder.

💀🕸💀

Downstairs, Ursa had agreed to take Katara on a tour of the house. She was a strange little thing, the same age as Azula but withdrawn and quiet, a hand drifting to the necklace around her throat often. 

“That’s a lovely necklace,” she tried. 

“Oh. Yes, it was my mother’s.” She got a far away look in her eyes that Ursa recognized as grief. 

“You must miss her very much.”

“ _Without my mother, my father suffers. Without her light, there’s no delight. She can’t be replaced by another, unless of course you are my brother.”_

Ursa smiled in confusion. “What a lovely poem.”

The girl frowned. “I’m sorry. I haven’t been myself since my mother died. She was a poet, you know, just like Sokka. After she passed I started speaking in rhymes more and now they just come out when I don’t expect them to.”

“You must miss her very much.”

“My father doesn’t even speak about her anymore,” she wailed. “He just goes about his day as if nothing’s wrong, and I can’t stand it anymore! I just want him to acknowledge that she’s _gone_ and to stop working so much. And now Sokka’s replacing her with Zuko. I'm the only one who seems to miss her.”

Ursa patted her shoulder awkwardly, and thought of the one question that always made her feel better when she was having a temper tantrum like this. “Was it a violent death?”

Katara burst into tears. 

💀🕸💀

Downstairs, the conversation Noren and Hakoda were having wasn’t much better. Hakoda had been sat down in a giant chair down in their dank, moldy basement as Noren bustled around him, smoking a pungent smelling… something. He was telling some story or another about ancestors and the origins of the chair he was currently in, though he had gotten lost somewhere between the name of the ancestor and how much it was worth. 

“...And it’s just quite a lovely specimen, don’t you think?”

Hakoda looked at the monstrosity, a hulking thing with spikes and blades sticking out from the armrests and the seat back. “...Delightful,” Hakoda said as he swallowed nervously.

“I’m glad you think so! Up, up, let me give you a demonstration!”

“Oh that’s really not-“ but Noren had already grabbed his hand and was pulling him up, and to avoid getting impaled by the spikey armrests, he stood up quickly. 

The man had pulled a crude fabric dummy out of somewhere and situated it on the chair. “You see, back in the glorious olden days of samurai and emperors and all those fun things, they used these chairs for a style of torture known as Ling Chi. When someone committed a particularly heinous crime…” he pulled a rope that Hakoda hadn’t noticed before, and there was the sound of ripping fabric until suddenly the stuffing from the dummy was floating around the room. 

Hakoda swallowed and thought, _I was just sitting there. That could have been me._

“How lovely,” he said faintly. 

“Yes I thought you’d like it! Ah!” the man cried suddenly. “You simply must meet Yumiko!”

“What is _that_?”

The man rushed over to a small door on the opposite wall and swung it open. Almost immediately, the head of a giant serpent came out. It was green and white, with a long snout, whiskers, and a fan spread around its face. “Not what, _who_! This is Yumiko, our sweet little unagi- a giant eel!”

“You have a giant eel… under your house?”

“You don’t?”

“Uh.. No. I don’t.”

Noren gave him a look that Hakoda could only describe as perplexed. “Hm. How strange. Well, she swam up through the pipes and my beautiful wife found her in our toilet and took her in.”

“Hm. Lovely.”

The eel shrieked, an ear piercing sound that made Hakoda flinch and cover his ears, though Noren just laughed. “Ah, my apologies. Zuko taught her that one. But it means she likes you! Come say hello, please!”

“Oh no, it’s fine really. I’m just a businessman, I could never-” he objected, eyeing the sharp teeth of the unagi. It was no use- Noren had already grabbed his hand and pulled him close.

“You’ll make her sad otherwise. I promise, she’s completely harmless.” As if on cue, the eel snapped her sharp teeth together. “Except when she does that, though it’s purely for fun.”

Hakoda reached out, trembling slightly, to place his hand on the creature’s head. It was strange that he could stare the biggest business people in the world down and make them cower beneath him, but the moment he was placed in front of this eel, he was like a timid child again. He patted it a few times on its slimy snout before it shrieked again, and he shot across the room. He frowned at the layer of slime on his hand and wiped it carefully on the chair in front of him, wary of the blades.

“So… Noren… The children. What do you think of their relationship?”

“Ah. I think Sokka is wise to love Zuko so much as he does, and he is lucky Zuko seems to return the affection.”

“Hey now, what does that mean?”

He raised his hands in defense and clarified. “I simply mean that Zuko was always a fierce child. He didn’t have many friends, despite how wonderful he is, and the relationships he's had as a youth usually ended poorly. But with Sokka, it's different- it is clear to me how much they love each other. it just fills me with joy to see our children be so drawn to each other.”

Hakoda grinned. Finally, something normal, something he could get behind, had come out of this crazy man’s mouth. “I’m glad to hear you say so, Noren. Sokka’s a wonderful boy- so intelligent and ambitious, you know? It’s nice to see him so happy with Zuko.”

“You know, they remind me of my Great Great Uncle and his wife-” he launched into another wild story, this time of pirates and damsels in distress, and Hakoda could only pray that Sokka knew what he was getting into by dating a member of this family.

💀🕸💀

Azula walked into Zuko’s room only to yelp and cover her eyes. Her brother and his boyfriend were tangled up on the bed with their limbs and hair everywhere, disheveled clothes, bright red cheeks, and kiss bruised lips. Sokka was on top of him, and Zuko pushed himself up on his elbow to look at her with fury blazing in his eyes.

“Azula, what are you doing in here? Get out!” he spat.

“I just wanted you to set up the chair.”

“No,” her brother groaned, falling back into the bed. “You know how to do it yourself. I’m busy.”

“But it’s not the same when I do it myself,” she pouted and crossed her arms. 

“Azula, please. I’m with Sokka right now. We can do it later. Just get _out_.”

She huffed and turned on her heel. “Fine! You’re such a disgusting, boring, old person!”

“Whatever!” he called as she slammed the door.

She leaned against the door, breathing heavily. It was already happening- now that he had Sokka, he didn't want anything to do with her anymore. She was going to lose her brother to stupid blue eyes and brightly colored shirts. She could hear soft muttering from behind the door, Sokka comforting Zuko she’d guess, and she stormed off to prevent herself from screaming. The heavy weight of the acrimonium in her pocket was the only thing to keep her from running back in and ripping Sokka off of her brother.

💀🕸💀

After dinner, a tense affair where only the occasional stilted conversation interrupted the scraping of knives and forks on plates, Zuko looked at Sokka and stood up.

“Now that we’ve finished eating, Sokka has something he’d like to say.”

Sokka leapt to his feet and cleared his throat loudly. “Uh, well, yes. I suppose I do.”

“Oh! A full disclosure!” Ursa cheered and clapped her hands.

Zuko’s heart sank. “No, mother it’s not that important-”

“It’s tradition to play the game, Zuzu, you know this,” said Azula.

“Come on, we simply must play!” Iroh cried. 

Zuko sighed and sat down, tugging Sokka down as well. “Fine. We’ll play. But just one round, okay?”

The Huo’s all cheered, and Ursa disappeared through a random door, emerging with a silver chalice clutched in her hand. “This is the sacred Huo family chalice, passed down generation to generation. Someone will drink,” she walked over to Lu Ten, who filled it with wine dutifully, “then they reveal something no one knows. Your deepest secret, brought to light surrounded by those who love you. We call it… Full Disclosure! Who wants to go first?”

Iroh beamed. “Me! I do!”

Ursa handed the chalice to him and he took a deep swig. “Well,” she asked. “What is it, Iroh?”

He had a dreamy smile on his face. “I… am in love!”

“Oh Iroh, with who?” everyone cried out. It was certainly big news- Iroh hadn’t been in love since his girlfriend and the mother of Lu Ten had died all those years ago- at least twenty, by now. 

“I am in love with the moon!”

Zuko facepalmed. _So much for normal_ , he thought tiredly. Hakoda and Katara just looked confused, while everyone else awe'd.

“ _The moon is a soul in the sky, wisdom and years beyond this guy_ ,” Katara muttered. Sokka shushed her immediately.

“I know, it seems strange. But the moon and I… we have a connection, even all these miles apart. When the night comes, I wish it could just be us two, alone together. Full disclosure!”

“Oh Iroh,” Ursa said as she smiled at her brother. “How wonderful. Who’s next?”

Grandpa Azulon raised a shaking hand. “It’s my turn, dear.” He took his swig and stood up. “I may be old, and I may not know when death will come knocking at my door, but there’s this nurse I have had my eyes on at the hospital… I mean whoa-we! She’s young, only 90, but… That girl’s got a fire in her, so I’ve decided I’m going to ask her on a date. Full disclosure.”

The room was silent as they all shifted uncomfortably hearing the old man speak so frankly, until Noren said, “Well, Azulon, thank you very much for that one.”

“You know, it’s getting late and I think my children and I should be going now,” Hakoda said, the oddities of the Huo family becoming too much for him after so many hours. “Katara, Sokka, let’s go.”

Zuko jumped up again, hand on Sokka’s shoulder to keep him from leaving. “No! I have a full disclosure!”

"Ah!" Noren exclaimed. "Zuko has a full disclosure, how nice!"

"Zuko, stop. Don't do this, please," Sokka pleaded, though his fiancé brushed him off.

"Really, we should be going," Hakoda tried.

"No. You can't. If you leave before the game, it's bad luck. People might _die_." At Zuko's words, Hakoda and Katara sat down slowly and Sokka placed his forehead in his hands.

In the hubbub that had followed Zuko’s outburst, no one noticed that Azula had ducked beneath the table, chalice in one hand and the vial in the other. She poured it in quickly, and now she passed it along the line until it reached her brother. Azula watched with bated breath as he brought it to his lips. _Sokka didn’t know what was going to hit him_. But then, suddenly, Sokka’s hand darted out, plucked the chalice from Zuko’s own, and passed it to Katara. Before Azula could stop her, the girl had already taken a sip.

In only took a moment for Katara to visibly change. Her shoulders, which had previously been tight with sorrow and anxiety, loosened. Her face, which had been schooled into a polite smile, fell into a deep glare. Her eyes, kind and bright blue, glittered with a hard edge that made them dark and cruel. She coughed, a hard, rattling sound, and Hakoda leapt to his feet to place his hand on her back soothingly, as did Sokka.

“What’s happening to her?” her father yelled.

“I don’t know! It’s just a simple California Merlot!” Ursa cried out.

Katara shrugged their hands off and turned to her father. “So now you care, huh, Dad? You never cared before. When Mom was on her deathbed, sick and coughing just like that, you never stopped to wonder how your children were taking it. When you disappeared into your study, you didn’t care to ask how your children were doing without their mother. You stopped taking care of us, so I started taking care of Sokka and myself. You disappeared into your work, so I started cooking meals for you, not that you were ever there to eat it. And now you act like she never existed again, so now I honor her memory myself. You’re cold and harsh and unforgiving now, and I don’t even recognize you anymore. We didn’t just lose one parent when she died- we lost two.”

She was yelling through her tears by the end of it, face twisted and cruel, hands clenched at her side. Sokka stared at her in shock and Hakoda’s face was as white as a sheet. Zuko’s arm was around Sokka protectively, and the rest of the Huo family had recoiled away from Katara’s fury.

“That was too dark, even for us,” Grandpa Azulon muttered next to Azula. Her heart twisted with guilt and she swallowed thickly.

Hakoda had recovered and was standing now. “You know, I have one for you all. We’re simple people. I’m just a businessman, my son is only eighteen, and my daughter just turned sixteen a few weeks ago. We’re not used to this… This lifestyle you lead, with eels and all this… death and whatnot. So I think it’s time for us to be going. Full disclosure. Sokka, grab your sister and let’s go.”

“No!” Iroh and Zuko both yelled at once.

“You can’t take Sokka,” Zuko rushed to get out, panicking. His palms were sweaty, but his eyes were cool and collected as he looked at Hakoda. “You can’t make him leave with you.”

“Zuko…” Sokka warned, but it fell on deaf ears.

“Why not? He’s my son! He lives with me.”

“Because Sokka and I are getting married!”

“Married?” every single person in the room yelped, except for the two in question.

“Yes. Tell them, Sokka.”

The boy in blue had a strange pained look on his face as he stood. “I- Well, yes. It’s true. We’re getting married. I proposed a few days ago.”

The room was silent, and then a loud thunder strike snapped them all out of it.

“Oh look at that weather outside. I guess you won’t be able to leave after all,” Iroh said with what every member of his family knew was fake innocence. Zuko knew, as soon as he turned and saw the spirits lining the staircase behind them, that his uncle had asked the spirits to conjure a storm, and now they were keeping them in the house together.

He suspected they were in for a long night.

💀🕸💀

“Why did you do that?” Sokka cried as soon as they were alone, back up in Zuko’s room with the door firmly shut.

After the storm started, the room had fallen apart. Hakoda had been screaming at them about what happened to Katara, Katara was screaming at Hakoda for pretending to care, Iroh was laughing in the corner, Azula had disappeared, Ursa and Noren were raging that Sokka hadn’t asked for their permission before proposing, and Sokka was angry that Zuko had gone ahead and told everyone even though the dinner wasn’t going well. 

Zuko, unable to stand the noise anymore, had snapped. He’d sent his parents to their room to cool down with the promise that he’d come talk to them, had sent Sokka up to wait for him in his room, and had led Katara and Hakoda to a guest room where she would hopefully return to normal from… whatever had happened to her.

Now, in his own room, he’d hoped for a moment to breath, but it appeared his fiancé wouldn’t let him have that. He sighed and leaned against the door, eyes closed. “We had to tell them, Sokka, you know that.”

“Not like this! It should have been a calm event.”

“You saw how my parents reacted, love. There was no way this would be a calm night. Besides, as my mother says, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. That’s why she eloped with Noren instead of marrying who she was engaged too.”

“What?” Sokka asked.

Zuko waved his hand idly, then stepped into Sokka’s bubble to place his hands on his chest. “Nothing. Not important. The point was, they’ll forgive us. Come on, Sokka, is it really that big of a deal? Why can’t we just run away like they did?”

“Yes, it’s a big deal!” he cried, wrenching himself away from Zuko’s touch. “I proposed, I should have asked for their permission, I should have been the one to tell them. And we can’t run away. It would break my family’s heart, Zuko. Since my mother left, Katara’s been barely hanging on, and my Dad is like a completely different person! If I leave… they’ll shatter. I know I can’t expect you to understand, but I’m not like you, baby! You’re-” he cut himself off and Zuko fumed, knowing what he was going to say.

“I’m what?”

“Nothing.”

“No, you were going to say something. What was it?”

“Crazy! You’re crazy, okay? You and your whole family.”

“You’re just figuring that out?” Zuko laughed, a maniacal sound that made Sokka take another step back as Zuko stepped forward, though he was just heading to his dresser where he pulled out a black silk button up that he replaced his yellow shirt with. “This was a mistake, trying to pretend normal. It never would have worked. This is just who I am, Sokka! This is who my family is! We wear black every minute of every day, we like the topic of death- the more gruesome the better- and we find the macabre soothing. I shouldn’t have tried to pretend it was any different.”

“I always knew that- we met because you pinned me to a tree with swords against my neck, for fuck’s sake. But this… I mean, look at what happened to my sister! I can’t help but think that maybe this was all a mistake. Maybe you’re too crazy for me after all.”

Zuko stepped back in betrayal. His heart was breaking, but the anger flooding his veins overpowered the sorrow tugging at the pieces of his heart, and he just clenched his fists and grit his teeth. “So what? You don’t want to get married anymore?”

“Zuko, no that’s not what I’m saying. Of course I still want to get married. You know I love you-”

“Really? Because that’s how it came across. And you can’t say I’m too crazy for you and then say you still want to get married. That doesn’t make any sense!” Zuko was panting, tears threatening to spill from his eyes in frustration. He huffed and turned to go, but paused with his hand on the doorknob and said, “Maybe it’s not that I’m _too_ crazy. Maybe you’re just not crazy _enough_.” Then he opened the door and disappeared in a swish of black, leaving his fiancé alone in a dark red and black covered room, cursing himself.

“Fuck,” Sokka muttered with the heels of his hands pressed into his eyes. “ _Fuck_.”

💀🕸💀

“Noren, darling, what are we going to do? Dating the boy was one thing, but this... this is simply horrible,” Ursa bemoaned, sprawled across the sattee with an arm thrown over her face as if she was a fainting woman in a Victorian painting. “How could he do this to us? Our precious Zuko? I mean, not asking for permission to get _married_? Who does that?”

“Us, dear,” he said from where he was staring into the roaring fireplace. “We did that, remember? Your father has never forgiven us. The fact that he lives with us now astounds me, really.”

She lifted her head up quizzically. “My father? What are you talking about? My father has been dead for years.”

Noren blinked at her. “No… _Azulon_ is your father. _My_ father has been dead for years.”

Her head thumped back onto the couch dully. “No kidding. I thought he was your father.” They were silent, and Ursa finally said, “Well, that certainly explains _that_."

“Look, Ursa dear,” Noren steered them back to the topic of Zuko, “I know it’s shocking. But like you said to me not too long ago, he’s young, he’s in love, and this is just how children behave. It’s exactly what we did, but we didn’t even bother telling anyone before we eloped. Look at how it turned out.”

“That was a rather exciting day,” she agreed, a pleasant smile across her face as she remembered that night. They had just met, and a few hours later they were married- it had been a wonderful evening, and she was grateful everyday she didn’t marry that boorish man, Ozai, that she had been engaged to. “I suppose you’re right. It’s just…” 

“Startling. I understand. But our boy has grown up, Ursa. It’s simply something we must face.” He sat down next to her and leaned down to kiss her sweetly. “But when you’re a Huo, family is everything. No matter how far away he travels, he will always come back to us.”

💀🕸💀

Later that evening, Ursa found herself sitting on the roof, looking out at the moon. Despite her husband’s comforting words earlier, sadness still tugged at her heart. Her baby boy was growing up, and while it was joyous to see the man he was becoming, she couldn’t help but mourn the fact that his childhood was behind him now. 

Lost in thought as she was, she didn’t notice footsteps behind her until Zuko had sat down next to her. “I went to your room but Father said I’d find you here, instead.”

His voice was quiet, with the tinge of sadness only a mother could pick out. “What’s wrong, turtleduck? Why so sad? I thought you’d be excited, what with the wedding and all.”

He sighed heavily and kicked his legs out, such a childlike motion that for a second he looked like he was four years old again. “There might not even _be_ a wedding.”

Ursa blinked in surprise- that certainly wasn’t what she was expecting. “What? What brought this on? You two were so close earlier.”

“We had an argument after dinner. He said he loves me, and then he said he doesn’t know if he can be with me because I’m so _crazy_. I mean… me! Crazy!” He sighed again. “I hate him!”

“Well, maybe this is for the better, then.”

“No it isn't, this is a disaster! I love him!”

“You just said you hated him, turtleduck. Which is it?” she reasoned, eyes twinkling with knowledge.

“I hate him!” He paused. “But I love him!” He groaned. “I don’t know, okay?” He sniffled. “Why does he make me feel this way? I’m so angry with him, but I just want him to come and hug me and tell me it’ll be alright. Is there something wrong with me?”

She chuckled and pulled him close to her side. “No, my sweet boy, there’s nothing wrong for you. But really, who’s to say what’s right or wrong? What’s right for me may not be right for you. What’s wrong for your father might not be wrong for your sister. Life is full of contradictions like this one, Zuko. Whenever you say goodbye to something old, you say hello to something new. That’s just… how it is. That’s what it means love someone. And now that love has you in it's grasp, you're discovering that.”

“So you’re cool with me getting married then?”

Ursa shrugged. “Yes. And no. I’m so happy to see you growing up, finding love, finding happiness, and becoming a man. But I’m also sad, because I know it means I have to let you go soon. I think of all the days we’ve had together- at the pond, at the morgue, at the store… And I think of how you’ve grown, and I know I’ll never walk into your room to find you swinging your swords about or causing explosions with Azula again. And if I do, it won’t be the same, because Sokka will be there too. But… I feel better knowing that you could do worse than him. He’s not too bad.” She nudged him slightly and added on teasingly, “Pretty cute, too.”

Zuko laughed, eyes lighting up. “Yeah, he is. Pretty smart, too.”

“You flatter me,” a voice said quietly from behind them. The pair jumped slightly and turned to see Sokka leaning against the doorway shyly. “Sorry if I’m interrupting, I just-”

“No, no, we were done. I was just going.” Ursa placed a kiss to the top of Zuko’s head, then stood gracefully. As she passed Sokka, she winked. “Be good to my boy, Sokka.”

He dipped his head. “Of course, Ursa.”

In a swish of black fabric, similar to the way Zuko had stormed out of his room earlier, she disappeared, and they were alone again.

Sokka approached carefully and sat about two feet away from Zuko, unsure of how close the other boy would want him. 

“So,” he greeted absently, looking out at the view. It provided a spectacular look out over their expansive swath of land, and the moon was bright and huge in the sky.

“So,” Zuko greeted back, eyes fixed on the view ahead of him as well.

“Zuko? I’m… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled.”

The apology eased something inside of Zuko ever so slightly and he sighed. “It’s okay, Sokka. I know I can be… a lot, sometimes. My entire family can. We’re not exactly… typical. Or calm.”

He chuckled softly. “Yeah, I know. And that’s what I’ve always loved about you. You’re so different from anyone I’ve ever met- crazier than anyone I’ve ever met- but I promise you it just makes you all the more special to me.” He turned to Zuko suddenly so that he was facing him, one leg dangling off the roof while the other was bent in front of him. “I didn’t mean what I said, Zuko. I _do_ want to marry you. I want to marry you more than anything in the world, craziness and darkness and all.”

Zuko smiled, heart warm at Sokka’s words, but he couldn’t help the flicker of doubt at his words. “I want that too, Sokka. I want to treasure you in death, and I want to treasure you in life. But I just…” he paused, unable to say that he didn’t fully trust Sokka would put up with how crazy he was.

As if reading his mind, he said, “I can prove it.” Sokka stood and tugged off his tie as he walked across the roof to get Zuko’s swords from where they had been left earlier this morning. He picked up an apple on his way back, then held the swords and tie out to Zuko, who took them tentatively. He kept the apple for himself. “Blindfold yourself. I’ll put this apple on my head, and all you have to do is slice it without hurting me.”

“Sokka, come on. This is crazy," Zuko tried to reason. 

“I know. That’s the point- that I can be crazy too. Trust me- if we’re really meant to be, we’ll have a connection and you won’t hurt me. You just swing the swords, and I’ll guide you... with my love.”

Zuko grinned despite his doubts, a thrill running through his body at the confidence in Sokka’s voice, at the idea of Sokka placing all his trust in him, at the idea that maybe, just maybe, Sokka had some crazy in him, too. “Oh. Well then. Okay. That’s uh… Yeah. I can do that.” 

“Alright. Here we go, okay?” he asked as he secured the blindfold, then moved so that he was a short distance in front of Zuko, the apple on top of his head. “I’m ready. Go ahead.”

Zuko took a breath, then it was as if he was possessed. Without thinking, he swung his swords in two graceful arcs. There was the sound of something hitting the ground and he ripped off his blindfold to find Sokka grinning cheekily, the apple in eight even slices around him with only the core left on his head. 

“I told you, baby,” he said cockily, plucking the core from atop his head and studying it. “I can be crazy too. Crazy enough to marry you, crazy enough to go penguin sledding, crazy enough to-”

Zuko dropped his swords, overwhelmed by love for the boy in front of him, and interrupted him. “Just shut up and kiss me, Sokka.”

Sokka, never one to refuse such a request from his fiancé, obliged happily.

💀🕸💀

Hakoda watched Katara, who was laying on the bed, with worried eyes from his position at the desk chair. Every once in a while, she would ramble out the start of the poem, but it wouldn’t rhyme. Sometimes, she’d look up and see him still looking at her and start cursing wildly. Other times she was just still and silent, the way she was now. A headache was building from worrying so hard, and he sighed. 

He knew that after Kya’s loss a few months ago, he’d been distant. It had been hard to watch his beautiful wife, the girl he’d loved for more than half his life, as she got progressively sicker until finally, she passed away. His grief had threatened to crush him, so he did the only thing he could think to do- he threw himself into work, spending more and more time at the office. He’d been so absorbed in keeping himself from thinking about her that he had forgotten that his children had lost her, too.

He couldn’t help but blame himself for what was happening now, until the sight of Katara was too much to bear.

He found Noren down in the basement again, smoking that strange object from before. When he came down the steps, though, he stood and put it out with a serious expression. “How is Katara?” he asked.

“She’s calming down a little bit, but she’s still acting out,” he admitted heavily. 

“I’m so sorry, Hakoda, I don’t know what happened. I swear, it was just a harmless glass of wine. We make the game sound so threatening and evil, but it’s just meant to be a bit of fun, a way to keep the family connected.”

Hakoda nodded. “I understand. But I think… it might have been a good thing that whatever happened did. I wish she had been able to just tell me that herself, but I guess the fact that she didn't proves her case. I haven’t been a good father recently. I haven’t been there for my children- to help Katara with her grief or to support Sokka’s relationship.”

Noren patted his back, the way a longtime friend would. When he spoke, his voice was gentle and lacked the usual showy tone it usually had. “That’s okay, my friend. I understand. Grief changes a person. That’s why, in our family, we don’t treat death as something sorrowful. We welcome it, though we don't seek it. In doing so, we keep our loved one’s close. We celebrate their lives and passage into the next great adventure rather than lamenting their departure. It helps, a little bit.”

He sighed and looked up at the cracked and slimy ceiling. “You know, somehow, that’s the first thing you’ve said that’s made sense all night.”

That earned a boisterous laugh from Noren, though he quickly grew serious again. “I know you must miss your wife, but you still have your children. Don’t let anything tear them away from you- grief… love…”

“I know what you’re trying to do, Noren, but it won’t work. I still can’t believe they’re getting married. They’ve only known each other for a few weeks.”

He stood up and wandered over to the liquor cabinet, grabbing a bottle of wine and two glasses and pouring them both a generous serving. “My wife was engaged before she met me, you know? To a terrible, terrible, man. He got sent to jail for murder a few years ago, actually, but we don't need to talk about that. She was engaged to this man and was having a party to celebrate the upcoming nuptials. I was in attendance as a friend of a friend, and when I saw her come down the stairs in a glittering black dress, I resigned myself to knowing the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen was going to be the wife of another. Well, at some point or another, we bumped into each other on the dancefloor, and instead of pushing each other away, we decided to dance. We danced for hours, every style of dance you could imagine, until our feet ached and our limbs were tired. And while we danced, we talked. I fell in love with her somewhere between the tango and the bon odori, and that night we eloped.”

“In one night?” Hakoda said in surprise. He looked down at his glass, wondering if something had been put in his too, but Noren just laughed.

“I promise you, I am not kidding. We have been married for nearly twenty-five years, and she is still the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and the only I have ever loved. Sometimes, relationships are like that.”

Hakoda begrudgingly had to agree. He had known Kya for years before they began dating, though there was always that hint of something more between them. After they got together, it was only a year before they got married. Really, how was that so different from his son and his fiancé?

“You know, Noren, you’re not half bad. Thank you.”

They simply clinked their glasses together and tossed the wine back.

💀🕸💀

As if summoned, the families reconvened in the foyer. Sokka and Zuko were leaning heavily into each other, happy and blissful smiles on both their faces. Katara had mostly recovered, though she was still groggy, and Hakoda stood behind her with a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Azula was tucked away, stewing in her guilt, and Grandpa Azulon stood next to her. Iroh and Lu Ten sat aside as well, and Iroh had a pleased smile on his face at the sight of the reunited group.

“I would just like to say,” Hakoda broke the silence, “that I have a full disclosure. A real one, this time.”

“Of course,”Noren gestured for him to begin with a knowing smirk. 

Hakoda knelt down in front of his daughter, holding her hands in his own. “I owe you an apology, Katara. And you too, Sokka. I haven’t been a good father recently. I’ve been distant, cold, unsupportive… Everything that Katara said. I thought that if I threw myself into work, I’d forget what I’d lost. But it also made me forget what I have with me now- two beautiful children that I’m so incredibly proud of, who are growing into amazing young adults. I promise you both I’m going to be here for you from here on out. Whether it’s supporting you two,” he directed towards Sokka and Zuko, “and helping with the wedding, or taking care of you once again,” he said to Katara. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Katara was crying, and she flung her arms around her dad. “Oh Dad, thank you,” she sniffled. “I’m sorry I was so cruel. I know you miss her as much as I do. I don’t know what came over me, but I’m glad you’re here. We’ll get through it together.”

Sokka was crying too, and joined the hug on the floor with a soft smile.

"And Zuko?" Hakoda asked. "I look forward to welcoming you to the family, son."

Zuko burst into a blinding grin. "Thank you, Hakoda. I look forward to it."

Azula watched from her stool in the corner, guilt swirling inside her. She didn’t want to confess- she was scared of what Zuko would say, scared that her confession would ruin the closeness they had developed- but she broke suddenly at Zuko’s warm expression as he gazed upon his fiancé’s family.

“I have a full disclosure too,” she announced when they broke apart, hands twisting anxiously.

"Azula? What is it?" Ursa said worriedly.

“I… I put acrimonium in the chalice.”

“What? Azula, why would you do that?” Zuko asked, though he didn't sound angry- just confused.

“What’s acrimonium?” Katara asked, voice unreadable.

Azula had no clue what the other girl was thinking, but she took a deep breath and continued. “It’s a potion that brings out the worst in a person. I meant to give it to Zuko because I was just… I wanted him to drink it so that Sokka would see the darkness within him and leave him. I was just scared, Zuzu. It feels like you’re leaving me behind. You have him now, so what use do you have for me?”

“Zula, I could never leave you behind,” he said softly, coming up to her. “You’re my little sister and my best friend.”

“But all the days of electrocution-”

“They’ll just be fewer and farther between. I promise you though, every time I’m here I’ll electrocute you as much as you want.”

She sniffed and threw herself on him in a tight hug. She knew she was probably squeezing the living daylights out of him, but she knew he didn’t care. “I’m sorry, Zuko. For what I tried to do and for what happened.”

“It’s okay, Azula. But I’m not who you should be apologizing to.”

She nodded. “I know.” She turned to Katara and knelt down so she was at her level. “I’m sorry, Katara. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but it doesn’t excuse that it did. I hope you can forgive me.”

Katara looked at her dad next to her, arm slung around her shoulders in a half hug, and at Sokka and Zuko, who were embracing again. She smiled warmly. “Thank you, Azula. For the apology, and for bringing our families closer together.”

"Oh, Azula, I'm so proud of you. You embraced the darkness, and now look. We've found the light," Azulon said from the corner of the room with a smile. 

Azula flushed at their words. She knew what she had done wasn’t right, even if it had turned out well, but it still felt good to hear they weren’t as angry with her as she had feared.

“Mother? Father?” Zuko asked, stepping forward, Sokka at his side with their hands clasped tightly. “I want to marry this boy, more than anything in the world. I love him. I just ask… May we have your blessing?”

Ursa and Noren smiled at each other. “Yes, Zuko. Of course you may.”

The couple grinned widely and embraced with a passionate kiss.

“Well. I think the next steps are clear to us all,” Iroh said finally, breaking his silence as he stood to place a record on the turntable against the wall. “We must dance!”

“Of course. The only way to celebrate!” Ursa responded, grasping her husband’s hand so they could begin a graceful waltz as the first notes of music swelled to fill the house.

Hakoda and Katara clasped hands and did a goofy dance together, while Azula and Grandpa Azulon danced together with surprising liveliness for an old man and a sixteen year old in tall platform boots, and Lu Ten did a strange, stiff dance in the corner by himself.

Zuko and Sokka’s foreheads were pressed together, their eyes closed as they swayed gently and whispered to each other, trapped in their own little world. As Iroh watched, they leaned forward and kissed each with a tenderness that made his heart swell.

He smiled, and looked up to address the spirits who had gathered on the staircase to watch the group. “Go rest, ancestors. Love has triumphed once again. It’s time for you to return to your graves.”

They cheered and began to drift through the front door, a long line of ghosts making their way down the hill to the mausoleum. Iroh followed them outside and sighed at the sight of the moon, beautiful and silent in the night sky. For a moment, it was truly just the two of them.

“Love has triumphed once again, my love,” he whispered. “In life and in death, love will always triumph.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> If you enjoyed, like/comment/check out my [tumblr](https://zukosadragon-ace.tumblr.com/)! (@zukosadragon-ace)
> 
> <3


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